More Power to More People

From the advent of the first known High Temperature Superconductor in 1986, interest in superconducting cables for electricity transmission and distribution has exploded. Superconducting cable is seen as a potential solution for the growing strain on the world's power grids.

In a growing number of urban areas, there is little room underground to bury additional cable, which in turn strains the ability of these areas to keep up with the growing demand for electric power. Superconducting cables have a capacity several times that of conventional cables of similar size. They have the potential, in short, to bring More Power to More People.

In 1992, the Department of Energy began its Superconductivity Program to help U.S. companies become world leaders in HTS commercialization. Within a decade, the world's first industrial use of high temperature superconducting (HTS) cable was underway in Carrollton, Georgia. Today, there are about a dozen superconducting cable demonstration projects underway in North America, Asia and Europe.

This web site summarizes the latest advances in HTS technology and the projects that are bringing HTS cables closer to commercialization. You will find detailed descriptions on different HTS designs and several of the latest demonstration projects introducing key advances in superconducting technology, including a unique Triax cable design that is operating at 3 kA, three times the current of any superconducting project currently energized or under construction.

Play the video to see how HTS technology can be applied in urban environments. Flash 8 is required and a broadband or high speed internet connection is suggested (size 7.6 MB).

This site also discusses potential benefits of superconducting energy systems, including reduced energy loss, smaller right-of-way requirements, ease of installation, smaller substations, increased power rating in a small cross section, and elimination of thermal and electromagnetic emissions.

You also will find news and links to a variety of resources on HTS technology, as well as a variety of reference material.